Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryAugust 16, 2016

Donald Trump‘s chances of becoming president seem to dim by the day. While there’s still plenty of time for him to comeback and defeat Hillary Clinton in the fall, the odds diminish daily. But while conventional wisdom has it that Trump is one-off political phenomenon, buttressed by his money and celebrity, what about the millions who support […]

Tom JacksonAugust 3, 2016

They’d reached closing statements at a recent forum for Hillsborough County Commission District 6 Democratic hopefuls in Bealsville, near Plant City, and Pat Kemp, the Tampa lawyer and serial candidate, was feeling magnanimous. The town center was a thing of beauty, she said, praising the town hall, expanded library, a roundabout with a flag at […]

Mitch PerryAugust 2, 2016

Let’s stipulate at the top that the results in last night’s Hillsborough County Hob Nob hosted by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce isn’t indicative of much of anything, except what several hundred well-heeled folks who mostly live in Tampa think about the various races that will be on the ballot later this month and in November. It’s […]

Mitch PerryJuly 13, 2016

Jeb Bush says whatever you want to call Donald Trump, don’t call him a conservative. “Conservatism is temporarily dead,” the former Florida governor told Nicolle Wallace on an MSNBC special that aired Monday night. “I mean, if you look at it, we have two candidates. Donald Trump is barely a Republican. He’s certainly not a […]

Mitch PerryMay 11, 2016

For the last week, the political news media has been obsessed with the likely Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton general election confrontation. Although he has been the front-runner throughout 2016, Trump’s big victory over Ted Cruz in Indiana last week prompted Cruz and John Kasich to quit the race, and by last Wednesday, Trump was your GOP […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 2, 2016

We’re on to New Hampshire, but first … Ted Cruz deserves plaudits for grinding out a great victory for himself in Iowa last night, but can he win enough delegates to earn the nomination? I maintain that he can’t and won’t, which makes Marco Rubio‘s strong third-place victory the big story going into the next […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 28, 2016

In a few days from now, or perhaps a few weeks, Democrats in Hillsborough County may rise to announce that they’re challenging Republicans in two nearly created opportunities where analysts believe they have a decent shot at winning in a presidential election year. But that’s not the case today. With a new Senate seat created as part […]

Mitch PerryNovember 11, 2015

The odds were stacked against him last night, and there were many who were writing him off before last night’s debate. And yet he had a breakthrough performance at the GOP’s 4th presidential debate in Milwaukee. Jeb Bush? No, Rand Paul. Paul’s been down so far this election cycle that the only stories you seem […]

Peter SchorschOctober 9, 2015

Former Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman began his return to public office in September with solid fundraising. On Friday, Norman’s campaign announced raising $84,000 for his inaugural month. “When we started this campaign, we reached out immediately to close friends and family for support,” Norman said in a prepared statement. “I’m incredibly humbled by the […]

Mitch PerrySeptember 25, 2015

The saga of where the Tampa Bay Rays search for a new home is going on eight years now. It was in November of 2007 that the Major League Baseball franchise held a news conference at the site of Al Lang Field to talk about building a 34,000 seat facility on the waterfront. As we […]

Tag: Brian Willis

Mitch Perry Report for 8.16.16 — Do Trump politics go on, even if he doesn’t?

Tom Jackson: Old-school Democrat hopes Hillsborough can make a deal

Mitch Perry Report for 8.2.16 — Hob Nob vote indicative of Jim Norman’s vulnerabilities?

Mitch Perry Report for 7.13.16 — Conservatism is still running strong, Jeb Bush insists

Mitch Perry Report for 5.11.16 – Hillary’s weak close

Mitch Perry Report for 2.2.16 — Clinton 23 gets delegates, Sanders 21 in Iowa

More Tampa Democrats indicate no interest in open legislative seats in Hillsborough County

Mitch Perry Report for 11.11.15 – The return of Rand Paul to the GOP presidential race

Jim Norman dominates Hillsborough County race with impressive first month fundraising

Mitch Perry Report for 9.25.15 – At least 1 MLB team wants to play in St. Pete (in the spring)